Okay, all you people who love to trash Vancouver. “It’s not so world class,” you say. Every time I (or anyone else) ever writes a story suggesting there’s anything admirable about Vancouver, the naysayers come out in force to say we’re deluded and that the whole city is just a bad condo marketers’ power point. […]

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B.C.’s auditor-general issued a definite C- report card today on how the provincial government is dealing with homelessness, saying not only does it not have a clear plan for reducing it but it doesn’t even have good information on what the homelessness problem is. You can read the whole report here.

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I got to do a fun story in BCBusiness on why we’re hard-wired to believe the Olympics will save us or ruin us, as the new science of behavioural economics has helped us understand. My research also helped me understand why now is the moment when we’re all in the worst possible mood we’re likely […]

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As the Pappajohn brothers desperately look for ways to salvage their Jameson House tower project downtown, they’ve found themselves fighting not just to get financing but also fighting to keep their unhappy pre-sale buyers on board. Derrick Penner’s story in the Sun this morning details the current state of legal affairs among all the parties […]

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Just when we were almost finished with the chicken jokes (related to the city plan to allow people to keep chickens for personal use in their yards), now comes this announcement from city hall that they’re digging up part of the lawn for a community garden. Here is the news release below. City to create […]

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Check out what the former Talking Heads member and now independent musician had to say about Vancouver’s mayor in his blog here. I thought he might mention Gregor’s stellar performance in the audience, where he waved his lit-up Blackberry, instead of a match or lighter, to show his enthusiasm during Byrne’s recent concert here in […]

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That was the word from city manager Penny Ballem this afternoon. Although Councillor Suzanne Anton didn’t get a seconder to her motion, which I posted earlier, asking for clarification in how those contracts were awarded, Mayor Gregor did ask the city manager to give an explanation since “questions have been raised.” Penny’s statement: “It was […]

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Oops, forgot to post my story from the Globe today earlier than this. But here it is. A look at what’s going on, as the city and province try to figure out where all those 500 people now camping out at First United and a warehouse near Great Northern and in city buildings under the […]

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Councillor Suzanne Anton is going to raise questions this afternoon about the contract that went to public-relations expert Jim Hoggan for his company’s help in managing the messaging around the Olympic village mess. Previous explanations I’ve had from the city say it went to Hoggan because his company has expertise in international business media, which […]

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The rumbling started this morning about the announcement that Housing Minister Rich Coleman was going to become the Downtown Eastside czar. As it turns out, it’s a little more than that. He’s actually being put in charge of figuring out what all is going on with homelessness, mental health and addiction in five different communities, […]

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